Insect-exterminator



G. M. TALBE RT AND H. DAVIS. INSECT EXTERMINATOR. APPLICATION FILED A UG.25.19I9.

1,361,293, Patented Dec. 7, 1920.

I'irsll UNITED sTAT Es PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE M. TALBERT AND HARRY DAVIS, 01 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

INSECT-EXTERMINATOR.

Application filed August 25, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, GEORGE M. TALBERT and HARRY DAvIs, both citizens of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Insect-Exterminators, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to insect exterminators'of the type employing a tank containing sulfur or other insecticide, and pneumatic means for blowing or spraying such insecticide into trees, plants and the like.

One object of the invention is to provide a screen in the powder tank above the outlet passage to support the weight of the powder, to employ a cleaner for said screen operating over the latter to permit the powder to effectively discharge therethrough and to provide an agitator below the screen for loosening the powder discharged therethrough, so that it will be effectively blown out by the air current.

Another object of the invention is to provide novel means for operating the screen cleaner and the agitator from the mechanism employed for actuating the means which is used for forcing currents of air through the powder discharge passage.

lVith the foregoing in view, the invention resides in the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed, the descriptive matter being supplemented by the accompanying drawing.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an insect exterminator constructed in accordance with our invention.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the plane of the line 3-3 of Fig 2. V

Fig. 4; is a detail perspective of the screen cleaner and its operating shaft.

Fig. 5 is a detail vertical sectional view as indicated by line 55 of Fig. 2.

In carrying out our invention we employ a powder tank 1 having a powder delivery passage 2 at its lower end; a bellows or other suitable means 3 for forcing currents of air through said passage 2; a screen 4 in the tank 1 to support the weight of the powder; a cleaner 5 for preventing clogging of the screen 4; an agitator 6 below the screen for loosening the powder discharged therethrough; and manually actuated means for operating the air supply means 3, the cleaner 5, and the agitator 6.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Serial No. 319,809.

In the preferred form of our invention, the bottom 7 of the tank 1 is of funnel shape and the delivery passage 2 consists of a fixed pipe into which said hopper-like bottom discharges, and a flexible hose 9 having a suitable nozzle 9. The part 8* of the aforesaid pipe leads from the bellows 3 to the hopper 7 and the portion 8 of said pipe leads from said hopper to the hose 9, and whenever a blast of air is directed through said pipe by said bellows it will carry with it a quantity of the insecticide from the ho per.

he agitator 6 and screen cleaner 5 may be of any adequate form and actuated by suitable means, but we prefer to mount both of these parts on a single vertical shaft 10 which depends a slight distance from the tank bottom 7. The upper end of this shaft is preferably provided with a vertical slot 11 and the screen cleaner 5 may well be formed from a single strip of metal held in said slot by a nut 12, said strip being slightly twisted at opposite sides of the shaft 10 to hold it against endwise shifting and to provide oppositely extending cleaning arms 13 whose fiat sides incline downwardly to the screen 4 for effectively cleaning the latter when the shaft is turned. By constructing and mounting the cleaner 5 in the manner shown, it may be easily and inexpensively manufactured, yet will be highly eflicient in use.'

The agitator 6' is by preference formed from a single horizontal pieceof wire, centrally attached to the shaft 10 and prorided with downturned ends 14 positioned adjacent the bottom 7. This agitator, however may vary in form as occasion may dictate.

The lower end of shaft 10 1s shown provided with a ratchet wheel l5, and an arm 16 is pivotally mounted on said shaft adjacent said wheel, said arm carrying a spring pressed pawl 17 coacting with said wheel to intermittently rotate'the shaft 10 when said arm is oscillated. This oscillation may be accomplished in numerous ways but we preferably connect the arm 16 by suitable linkage 18 to a lateral arm 19 on a rock shaft 20 which is employed for operating the bellows or the like 3. This shaft is shown provided with a suitable hand lever 21 and with upstanding crank arms 22. the latter being pivoted to the ends of a bail 23 which is connected with the pivoted half of the Patented Dec. 7, 1920.

i be carried easily on the users back, with the nozzle 9 in convenient reach of one hand and the lever 21 accessible for operation by the other. lVhen this lever is oscillated, the shaft 20 is rocked to operate the bellows 3 and at the same time the connections 19, 18,

' 16, 17, and 15, come into play to intermittently rotate the shaft 10. Rotation of this shaft causes the cleaner 5 to move over the screen 4, thus preventing the powder from clogging upon the screen and allowing a quantity of such powder to fall into the space between the screen. and the bottom 7. This powder is stirred and loosened by the agitator 6 and is deposited in this loose condition into the pipe 8-8 In this pipe, the powder is picked up by the air blast from the bellows 3 and carried through the hose 9 to be discharged from the nozzle 9. Particular emphasis is laid upon the fact that the screen 4 supports the weight of the powder and that only a small quantity of this powder is allowed to discharge into the passage 2 at each operation of the bellows or the I like 3. By this arrangement, packing of the powder in the delivery passage 2 and consequent clogging of such passage is prevented.

.The entire device is simple and inexpensive, has been actually used, and has proven highly eflicient and desirable in every way, and since probably the best results are obtained from the details disclosed, they may well be followed. e wish it understood however that within the scope 'of the invenpowder tank provided with a powder delivery passage, air supply means discharging mto sa1d passage, a powder supporting screen in said tank above said passage, an agitator below said screen, means in contact with the upper side of said screen for scraping the powder from the latter, lifting such powder, and dropping it loosely upon said screen, and means for simultaneously actuating said air supply means, said agitator, and said powder scraping, lifting and dropping means.

2. Aninsect exterminator comprising a vertically disposed powder tank having a funnel shaped bottom spaced upwardly from the lower end of its wall, the portion of said wall below said bottom forming a depending skirt, powder feeding means in the bottom of said tank, a vertical shaft on which said feeding means is mounted, said shaft extending through the tank bottom and having a ratchet wheel, a dog coactingwith said ratchet wheel, an oscillating arm mounted on said shaft and carrying said dog, a transverse rock-shaft extending across the aforesaid apron and having a depending crank arm adjacent the latter, linkage connecting said crank-arm with said oscillating arm, a powder discharge passage extending across said skirt and communicating with the lower end of the tank, a bellows at one side of said tank discharging into said passage, and means for operating said bellows from said rock shaft.

3. An insect exterminator comprising a powder tank having a horizontal powder supporting screen and a powder discharge passage below said screen, means for supplying forced currents of air through said passage, a driven vertical shaft adjacent the center of said screen and having a longitudinal slot, and a flat strip of metal received at its center in said slot, said strip being twisted on opposite sides of said shaft to hold it against endwise shifting and to provide flat screen cleaning arms whose flat sides incline downwardly to said screen.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures.

GEORGE M. TALBERT. HARRY DAVIS. 

